In retailing establishments such as department stores, supermarkets and the specialty stores, suspending displays such as signs, flags, mobiles and the like from the ceiling is a widely used to technique to promote products in order to help stimulate sales. Because, in most cases, the displays are frequently changed based on the particular promotions which the retail store is running, the displays are typically suspended from the ceiling using some type of easily releasable fasteners such as magnets which are provided on a suspended display holder. The display itself is hung from the display holder by strings, wire hangers or the like.
Hanging the displays can be a very labor intensive and time-consuming exercise which requires the use of ladders, scaffolding and/or lifting apparatus. These difficulties are particularly acute when the displays are being hung in congested areas of the store. Accordingly, tools having elongated handles which enable individuals to hang and remove suspended signs from a ceiling have been developed. One example of such a tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,332.
The tools that are presently available, however, are plagued by several significant problems. In particular, conventional tools can be difficult to operate requiring a great deal of manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination. For example, the tool disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,332 has pivoting jaws which require a relatively substantial amount of force to operate making it quite difficult to the tool steady to grab or release an object at the same time the jaws are being operated. Moreover, the engagement of the tool with the display unit is loose and not very secure which can lead to difficulty in manipulating the display. In addition, the presently available tools are not compatible with many of the types of display hanging systems which are presently in use. Thus, if a store does not want to be limited to certain types of suspended display systems, they often must have a number of different display hanging tools on hand in order to work with the different types of suspended display systems.